The Beauty in Each Grain of Sand

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July 16, 2011 a project of CharityFocus Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. - Albert Einstein - The Beauty in Each Grain of Sand When you take a moonlit stroll on the beach, how often do you think about the tiny grains of sand creeping in between your toes? From above, sand seems like a bunch of tiny brown rocks, perhaps peppered with occasional shells or beach miscellany. But sand has a far more fascinating story to tell. Composed of the remnants of volcanic explosions, eroded mountains, dead organisms, and even degraded man-made structures, sand can reveal the history -- both biological and geologic -- of a local environment. And examined closely enough, as the scientist and artist Gary Greenberg has, sand can reveal spectacular colors, shapes, and textures. Greenberg used an Edge 3D Microscope to take pictures of sand from around the world, creating these incredible images. { read more } Be The Change Choose something to look deeply into today, and see what new understanding you gain. COMMENT | RATE               Related Good News Ice Cream Truck of the Digital Age How to Recycle: An E-Waste Odyssey Students Debut Life-Saving Infant Warmer A Quiet Savior DailyGood is a volunteer-run initiative that delivers "good news" to 106,831 subscribers. There are many ways to help. To unsubscribe, click here. Other CharityFocus projects include: HelpOthers  //  CF Sites  //  KarmaTube  //  Conversations  //  More

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Global Trends in Social Good

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July 15, 2011 a project of CharityFocus The more you give, the more you live, and it's never too early to start. - Blake Mycoskie - Global Trends in Social Good There is a rising consciousness to do good in a world recovering from recession and facing global challenges. But what does social good mean? Traditionally, it is a good or service that benefits the largest number of people in the largest possible way. As more and more organizations and individuals wake up to the groundswell of social good, the realm is expanding. Many innovations are emerging, whether in business models, products and services. Some are aided by technology, others have their roots in building communities both online and offline. Here is a look at social good in action from the perspectives of consumers, communities, businesses, public institutions, and nonprofits { read more } Be The Change Take part in doing something for the positive change. Check out OpenIDEO, a collaborative online platform for social good. { more } COMMENT | RATE               Related Good News Leadership Lessons from a Dancing Guy What They Don't Teach in Business School Retailing With Heart From Untouchable to Businesswoman DailyGood is a volunteer-run initiative that delivers "good news" to 106,816 subscribers. There are many ways to help. To unsubscribe, click here. Other CharityFocus projects include: HelpOthers  //  CF Sites  //  KarmaTube  //  Conversations  //  More

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Reading, Writing and Revelation

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July 14, 2011 a project of CharityFocus Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger. - Ben Okri - Reading, Writing and Revelation Whenever the stabbing pain in her knee becomes unbearable, 17-year-old Mackenzie Bearup picks up a book and starts to read. While previous treatments -- painkillers, physiotherapy, acupuncture, hyperbaric oxygen therapy -- have failed, a self-prescribed reading cure works. "So far, books have been my only medicine," Bearup says. Reading and healing have an age-old association. In ancient Egypt, libraries were known as psyches iatreion, "sanatoriums of the soul." During the Renaissance, the poetry of the Psalms was thought to "banish vexations of both the soul. Now, science is starting to prove what readers and writers have long known: Words can help us repair and revitalize our bodies as well as our minds. And as a result, bibliotherapy -- reading specific texts in response to particular situations or conditions -- is becoming more and more popular among psychologists, physicians, librarians and teachers. { read more } Be The Change Mackenzie Bearup realized that there were many others kids like her, struggling with pain, and that reading could help them. To date, she has donated 38,000 books! Her site for collecting books for homeless shelters: { more } COMMENT | RATE               Related Good News 25 Reasons to Embrace Criticism How a Wandering Mind Affects Your Mood The Science of Self-Control A Change of Heart Changes Everything DailyGood is a volunteer-run initiative that delivers "good news" to 106,794 subscribers. There are many ways to help. To unsubscribe, click here. Other CharityFocus projects include: HelpOthers  //  CF Sites  //  KarmaTube  //  Conversations  //  More

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9 Interviews with Creative Visionaries

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July 13, 2011 a project of CharityFocus We can chart our future clearly and wisely only when we know the path which has led to the present. - Adlai E. Stevenson - 9 Interviews with Creative Visionaries "I love a good interview. To me, there's nothing so useful for demystifying the creative process as hearing an artist or entrepreneur speak from a very personal perspective about how, and why, they do what they do. This weekend, I combed through my archive of epic and inspiring interviews and came up with this shortlist. Straight talk from Ernest Hemingway, Dieter Rams, Patti Smith, Steve Jobs, Ansel Adams, Tina Brown, Chuck Close and more." { read more } Be The Change Apply visionary thinking today, to circumstances ordinary and otherwise. On balancing vision and routine: { more } COMMENT | RATE               Related Good News Four Ways to Respond in an Argument How a Wandering Mind Affects Your Mood Live Boldly Outdoors and Out of Reach: Studying the Brain DailyGood is a volunteer-run initiative that delivers "good news" to 106,777 subscribers. There are many ways to help. To unsubscribe, click here. Other CharityFocus projects include: HelpOthers  //  CF Sites  //  KarmaTube  //  Conversations  //  More

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A Creative Use of Plastic Bottles

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July 12, 2011 a project of CharityFocus It is the marriage of the soul with nature that makes the intellect fruitful, and gives birth to imagination. - Henry David Thoreau - A Creative Use of Plastic Bottles When former Peace Corps volunteer Laura Kutner was asked to help find funding to finish constructing two classrooms in the elementary school where she worked in Guatemala, she decided to use -- or rather reuse -- a common piece of trash. Kutner used what was known in environment-friendly circles as "eco-blocks" -- plastic bottles stuffed with inorganic trash -- and encased them in chicken wire. Once covered in a few layers of cement, the bottles provided cost-efficient and eco-friendly insulation for the classroom's walls. "They stay cooler than traditionally built schools and have even inspired new community initiatives to find everyday solutions to trash management," Kutner said. { read more } Be The Change Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. COMMENT | RATE               Related Good News 100 Places to Go Before They Disappear Out of Ice, Comes Music Phone Booths Find New Lives Los Angeles Bans Plastic Bags DailyGood is a volunteer-run initiative that delivers "good news" to 106,746 subscribers. There are many ways to help. To unsubscribe, click here. Other CharityFocus projects include: HelpOthers  //  CF Sites  //  KarmaTube  //  Conversations  //  More

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